How Atwater brought beer canning back to Detroit after
nearly 30 years

A month ago, Atwater began canning its Dirty Blonde, Grand Circus IPA and Atwater Lager at the contract-brewery Brew Detroit LLC in Corktown.

When Mark Rieth took over Atwater Brewing Co. in Detroit in 2005, one of his main goals was to get the company’s beer into cans. Now, just less than a decade later, that goal has come to fruition.

A month ago, Atwater began canning its Dirty Blonde, Grand Circus IPA and Atwater Lager at the contract-brewery Brew Detroit LLC at 1401 Abbott St. in Corktown. Within the next week, those cans were being shipped to retailers, bars and restaurants by Atwater’s distributor Imperial Beverage Co. The cans have been on shelves in select stores for three weeks.

But the story of how the beer got into the cans goes further back. Three years ago, Rieth began canning and selling Atwater out of City Brewing Co. LLC in Wisconsin. He wanted to see how the cans fared in the market and was convinced by their success to bring the canning here to Atwater’s home.

While the company rolls out the canned beer, it is also working on the rollout of distilled spirits made in Detroit, starting with Dirty Blonde Vodka.

A sip of Detroit

But the canned beer production marks a major milestone for Atwater — and Detroit, Rieth said.

This is the first time since 1985, the year Stroh Brewery closed its 135-year-old location, that beer is being packaged in cans in Detroit, according to Rieth.

“You miss out on 30 percent of the market when you only sell bottle or draft,” Rieth said.

Cans, while not fully embraced by all beer aficionados, have advantages such as better portability and fewer restrictions (such as parks or other venues that do not allow glass bottles.)

While consumer demand is a big reason Rieth decided to get Atwater into the world of canned beer, another motivator was the company’s longer-term goal to bring the culture of Detroit across the country.

“For us, from a can standpoint, our ad says: ‘It’s a craft beer you can totally shotgun,’” Rieth said.

Atwater plans to add three more of its beers to the can family in the first quarter of 2015. While final decisions have not yet been made, Reith said there’s a strong chance the Vanilla Java Porter will be released in a 16-ounce four-pack, and the D-Light, a beer with qualities of ale and lager, in 19-ounce cans.

Atwater is being sold in 18 states, with plans for breweries to be built in Texas and North Carolina in the next five years. Rieth said he doesn’t want Atwater to be everywhere, though.

“We just want to be everywhere that makes sense for us. Areas that are thriving,” Rieth said. “But Detroit is priority.”

International market growth is another focus area: A bar in Munich has Atwater on tap and Rieth has been in talks to get Atwater into Canada and Australia. Rieth said he would like the company’s sales to be 20 percent to 25 percent exports.

Going with the grain

Atwater's future product offerings will move beyond beer.

In about 60 days, Rieth said he expects to be granted a state license to produce spirits in a micro-distillery at Atwater’s current 237 Jos. Campau Ave. location.

First on the still list is Dirty Blonde Vodka. The vodka is made from the wort used to make the beer. Rieth said that wort can either be moved to a condition tank to be made into beer, or into a still to be made into spirits. Rieth wants to start with clear spirits and then move onto the darker, more aged spirits. By the first week of October, he said patrons will be able to buy Atwater spirits at the Detroit distillery; Rieth said the company hopes to add store distribution in the future.

Atwater is in its 10th consecutive year of record sales, and is on track to make $10 million this year with 60,000 barrels of beer, he said. The company reported $4 million in revenue in 2013.